for a long time as a kid my father would run a Christmas music program every Christmas morning, the John Henry Christmas carols, he died when I was 17 and didn't have a working c64 to carry on tradition, the audio quality in this plug and play is flawless, emulators crackled and pop and sounded terrible, but this is perfect, can't wait to restart the old tradition again
Wow dude i had that on my c64 when was really young and played it a lot in december. Even had a wierd childhood nightmare where the stuffed teddy bear by the tree tried to eat me. Danm brings back memories. Loved that computer.
It's great to hear you talk about this MJR. I feel that people who used the C64 originally have a much better perspective on what improvements this new product offers and what users should expect. Another great video as always! :)
@@MetalJesusRocks and whoever else may be interested, Watch "35 Year-Old C(ommodore)-64 Easter Egg Hidden On Vinyl" ua-cam.com/video/6_CZpFqvDQo/v-deo.html This media cross-over production needs to come back. 👍
nEXUS Not in all caes BETTER GRAPHICS does not = better gameplay Wizball was far better a game on the C64, and don't even get me started on that half-assed Amiga port of Outrun
Amiga emulation is at a good standard these days; as long as there's minimal lag I'd certainly hook an Amiga Mini up. Hopefully it would use standard USB mice and keyboards. Wings of Fury! Carrier Command! Virus! Barbarian (with Arnie samples)!
@@lordevyl8317 Outrun was bad on the C64 too, but Turbo Outrun was one of the best racing games on C64. The only problem was the biblical loading time between levels (on cassette), and the fact that the game started right away without asking you to press fire! So if you got distracted during loading you were guaranteed to lose a credit.
I just got one of these too, but haven't taken it out of the box yet because I've been too busy. I hope to try it out soon and give my opinion on the new USA version.
That game was cruel. I launched the girls into space one time and the game wouldn't tell you hit a dead end, just walked around trying everything getting frustrated while Ron Gilbert laughs at you
Metagalactic Llama Yeah, I agree. Unless I spot a new release game, I usually only use the CSDB for demos, new SIDs and graphics. I was just offering a suggestion as the site is chock full of fixed "roms"
in Europe we rarely used floppy disks, they were too expensive.. we used cassettes and a game load in 3-5 MINUTES - it makes me laugh every time when US people cry for ten seconds of loading from a cd, you don't know what pain is
Thanks for C64 memories.. Ghostbusters (who you gonna call :-) ) .. The Great Escape.. Pirates (many hours sailing.. fencing).. Pool of Radiance.. Secret of Silver Blades.. Spy vs Spy..
I love you Metal Jesus! You brought the little me back out :) My dad and 9 year older brother brought this home to me at the age of 3 and I never put this down.
"Great vid bro!" Let's be honest here. It's not a great video. Nothing about the bad joystick that misses microswitches, nothing about the overall poor build quality. I got it for like 35 bucks and i still feel cheated.
Jason: I'm sure you're aware by now that the same company "Retro Games" has finally released their full-size C64 with a perfect full-size keyboard! It gives you the option to boot into either the games Carousel, or straight into C64 Basic, or even Vic 20!! Some of the built-in games have changed, and a couple of Vic 20 games are now included... I was very happy to see that they've now got the license for Llamasoft games, so we now have "Attack Of The Mutant Camels", "Gridrunner" (Vic 20), and "Pyschedelia" (Vic 20); Llamasoft were such a strange, chilled out developer!! :-D The new "The C64", as it's officialy called, has 4 USB ports, and a much-improved controller; the new one has micro-switches for the stick and fire buttons.....it feels great! The firmware supplied plays external USB-Stick games, although there is new firmware update too..... This system looks virtually identical in size, shape, colour and design to the original - no cartridge/tape/disk drive slots in the back, but there are now 4 USB ports instead. It just behaves like it's a Commodore 64..... even if you try typing in game programmes from the manuals/magazines! Not sure when the USA release date is, but make sure you're ready for it!! This will really hit you in the 'feels'... ;-)
Maruko Chan 99 my biggest nostalgia for c64 is when you run your hand over the vents on the top of the old disk drive after turning it on and got that screeching sound lol
It's amazing to know that the C64 demoscene never stopped en kept improving for 30+ years. I think it tells something about what kind of fun machine it is.....
I grew up with C64. I owe a lot to this system, I learned how to program computers with it at age 12. I ended up going on to being a software engineer, but I learned the foundation of writing code on the C64 early 1980s I love this system. Thanks for the video, it brought back a lot of memories.
Stay a while, MJR! Stay forever! This was my first gaming system when I was a kid. So many great games. Pool of Radiance, Uridium, Montezumas Revenge, Henry´s House, Great Giana Sisters, Wonder Boy, Zorro, Monty on the Run, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Fist 2, The Last Ninja etc. Love this system! In the end of Who Dares Wins 2 there is a phone number to the creator. We called him several times. I bet he changed his number eventually... :-)
Got one as a Christmas gift. Just put all the Ultima games (the ones that were on the C64) on there, as well as Montezuma's Revenge (one of my favorite early platform games) and a few others.
The C64 was my 2nd console after the Atari 2600. I got it for my 9th birthday back in 88. The C64 games I remember playing the most are Montezuma's revenge (Best) Cave Fighter (2nd Best) The Human Race (Great 1st level music, not a great game but played it a lot) Chiller Dizzy Treasure Island Dizzy Gothik Kik-Start Boulder Dash Miner 2049er
Any other Pogo Joe fans out there? I think I'm gonna get this for my mom and put Pogo Joe on it. She was obsessed with that game, even though she supposedly bought the c64 for my sister and me. Lol
I never had a C64 myself but I did play it at some friend's houses in the 80s. My favorite C64 games: Turrican 1 & 2, Giana Sisters, Rally Speedway, Pitstop 2, International Soccer, Bubble Bobble, Zack McKracken, Maniac Mansion, Summer Games, Winter Games, Space Taxi, R-Type, ...
I just got one for $10. It’s super cool takes me back. The only reason why I bought it was for the look , but then I found out it was really easy to put in games and it’s so much fun. Feeling like a kid again thanks for another great video. Keep it up.🤘😎
It's a fun little box. Just for giggles, I hooked up a USB keyboard, opened Commodore Basic, did a 'load "$", 8' and found out that there is an emulated disk available to store programs that you type in while playing around with basic programming.
Update: I found the game its called Questron and I found it for the C-64. I need to know the name of a game I played a LOT. You were on an island and was to protect the towns where you can buy and sell item. You fought to protect the towns and went in to buy supplies or upgrades and sell what you got from fighting. In another town you buy items to get around the island better. But if you wanted to you can rob the towns fight your way out and then come back into the town to sell what you stole. But if you did that too many times the store was empty. It was a great game that I want to play again. Great review and I am getting the mini US version. Thanks.
The thing is, the games on the device where hugely popular in Europe. A lot of them were never released outside of the EU The new firmware even includes a free version of Galencia which was only made last year. It won the Reset64 Magazine game of the year. A really good Galaga clone
Really? Galencia is included? I better get that new firmware version installed on mine then! As for the games on it being eurocentric that kind of makes sense. There were a ton of games released over here for the C64. It pretty much ruled the gaming stage on this side of the pond together with the ZX Spectrum until the 16 bit era arrived. The NES and its console competitors didn't get the same foothold as it did in the US.
Yeah, Nintendo never did well in the EU until the SNES came out, although the gameboy did pretty decent, but the handheld market is quite different from the console market
I don't think it was actually an obscure title back then. It was also on Atari 8-bit - and was slated to be ported to the 5200 - and the Colecovision...
I know its been out some time now but I just wanted to say that i still enjoy playing my c64 mini today. Still looks cool and pleasing to look at. Long live the c64...
Awesome I really have to get me one of these. Also I think one of the games that impressed me the most back in the day was Driller with it's 3D graphics, and the intro/loading screen with the 9 min long SID is just awesome.
Excellent review! The selection of games might have been driven by licensing, but I suspect it had more to do with the fact that these games required minimal keyboard input and were limited to a single disk. To include games that are keyboard-heavy or multiple disks would mean adding complexity that would not be as enjoyable. I hope that this version of the C64 Mini is a commercial success for the makers so that they have incentive to produce a "full size" version with working keyboard. At the very least, I hope that they release a fullsized USB Commodore keyboard attachment for the Mini.
Yeah... I just got mine a couple of days ago too.... it's pretty much perfect to what I remember using and selling back in around '82/83.... the Basic emulator is pretty much perfect too; it even asks for tape drive if you tell it to load, without using the ",8" extension!! It treats the USB stick as a disk drive, which is nice! It's big and clunky looking by today's standards, but hey... it's a wonderful piece of history pretty much perfectly recreated!
Around 8:00 I had NO idea Giana Sisters was a C64 game, I play the newest Giana sisters on my switch almost every week ! My dad brought a C64 home from work sometimes and I got to play it. I was born in 81 though so all I really remember is the winter games game and the wrestling game!!
Fantastic video! :) Very cool you are on the FB group as well! There is just one thing I hope this thing gets updated about, left. And that would be that you can flip through disks without it resetting/autorunning, so that BASIC can be used as is, an you're practically using a real C64.
Brilliant summery of the system. I played a lot of Hero back in the day. Mainly because I couldn't afford many games back then so it was good to see you mention that. My mate still has my original machine as I gave it to him a few years back. He was beast when it comes to the machine. Even built hardware mods for the thing with another mate of mine. I used to go round and they'd have the disk drive in bits. Apparently my original drive no longer works but the C64 itself is still fully functional. It'd be great to see a slightly bigger version of the mini with a keyboard. I'd buy one of those in a heartbeat (especially if they put a few more usb ports on the thing. Two isn't enough).
From what I hear. It was difficult to add more games because of licensing issues. Some games were close to impossible to track down license holders and I understand why they wouldn't risk getting sued if the license holder were to suddenly materialize and submit a claim. That's what I heard.
I'm really interested in this whole project. Right now the only thing holding me back from buying is the possibility of the full size version with keyboard. I have an original C64 that's still working but I'm not sure if the CRT it's connected to or the C64 will die first. I'd love to have a backup plan but I don't want it to me a mini version with no keyboard.
@@fermp3690 I think that with the help of a keyrah you could gut a fried original C64, put the board of the mini inside the fullsize C64 case and have the original keyboard working, but sure the ready-made version will be more convenient.
I've picked up one of these but haven't had the time to take it out of the box yet. I had one of the Commodote Vic-20s back in the day. Loved playing games and writing programs on it. Good review.
@Metagalactic Llama Both...and then have a "Null Modem Cable" option via USB to hook them up together for Lotus, Falcon, and other games that supported it. I'm not sure if USB would be capable of hooking up 16 said Atari ST(e) Minis for "MIDI Maze" though...would be cool to try it though!
As the C64 is my favourite home computer, I really enjoyed this video, I have over 1200 original C64 cassette games, now I can play them on the Mini C64 :)
Awesome, thank you for this vid! I’m considering this console and it looks like I’m going to get it! I too enjoy the fact that you can upgrade with a firmware to play any other c64 title!
Bard's Tale and those decoder disks...oh the memories. I also remember playing contract with two joystick with one on the floor (with micro-switches) so I could press the button with my toe to jump.
Great video!!, I still have probably 3000 games magazines with all the demo disks back to the early 90's, used to be a great part of PC Gaming in the 90's a way of checking out games before you bought them.
Thank you man! I used to play exact the same you did! Know them all. What I can remember I also loved some other titles like 'Thing on a spring' (best platform game I know) and I had lot's of fun with 'Rock 'n wrestle', IK+, Kickstart 2, etc.
When I was young, it was impossible for me to have one C64, I remember my cousin getting a C128 and he never really appreciated or used it, don't know why??. Now I can make my younger years dream come true and for a fraction of the price!!!! Thx Metal Jesus you REALLY ROCKS!!!!!!! UR THE MAN!!!!
My only real problem with the C64 Mini is that the Joystick is nowhere near the quality of a _real_ Competition Pro stick, which the look of it is based on. I'm kinda hoping someone will make and sell a proper version of a Comp Pro or even a TAC-2 stick for the Mini.
Yes we played winter games and california games too all the time. Other classics: Sid Meiers Pirates, Football Manager, Microprose Soccer, Elite, Mule, Strip poker, Commande, Rambo. Now with this new firmware I think it top my christmas list.
I'm happy to hear of the improvements. I might want to hold out for a version with a working keyboard only because the key layout on a C64 is... sliiiightly different than a modern keyboard you'd hook into the USB port. Still, I imagine the working keyboard would cause a serious jump in the price point what with having moving mechanical parts...
Very cool that it's actually a official way to do this instead of hacking it. A good alternative to this is the C64 Forever by Cloanto, if you want to run the games and software in Windows. It also comes with a lot of licensed classic games. They also have a great Amiga Forever as well. Worth checking out.
Showing my love for Metal Jesus and the Metal Jesus Crew by posting a comment to feed the algorithm.... I wonder if the algorithm filters out comments with the word 'algorithm'.
I am a tad bit too young for the C64, also here in Norway such things cost a bloody fortune so I had to make due with the Sega Master Drive for a good couple years (around 91 to 93) before we went into PC. So it goes to say that I am unfamiliar with the C64 library. I was actually fucking STUNNED to see Defender of the Crown. It left me way more awestruck than even the best of graphics does today. Genuinely surprising to see that the capabilities of the C64 was clearly underused and the quantity mentality, or just simply inexperience, clearly held back what it could do in 99% of the cases.
If you think that is small, check out the ODROID-GO handheld console. It emulates the C64 very well with its recent update and addon keyboard. I have several videos about it. 🙂
Really cool! I have been seeing these on the shelves here in Canada lately and was avoiding them thinking that you couldn't add more games! Especially at the $100 price point. I still have a real Commodore 64, so it didn't matter to me much. But now I might think about picking one up. :)
Awesome! Looks like they were trying to keep the spirit of the system with this. I wonder, would a powered USB hub work with this so you could have the keyboard, joystick, and flash drive plugged in at one time?
First games I’d put on this would be Stunt Car Racer, Turrican 1+2, Creatures 2, Outrun, Power Drift, Green Beret, Silkworm, SWIV, R-Type, Saint Dragon, X-Out, UN Squadron, IK+, Ivan “Iron Man” Stewart’s Off Road Racer and the Dizzy Series ... for starters. Fuck this was a great gaming system!!!
MetalJesusRocks, not sure if you will read this but there are two games to try that are EXCELLENT and I have never seen them on any of your lists. Below the Root is an excellent game and also Realm of Impossibility.
yes, "programs from a magazine"!!! I still have a few of those from the 80s and remember typing them into my Apple IIgs. 2 hrs later you had a free "game"!
I have not been able to find something I think must exist somewhere, that is a comparison table of all popular classic (pre-2000) video game consoles with columns for things like resolutions, CPU clock speed, colors, colors simultaneously on screen, etc.
Thanks very much for this revisit of the C64 mini. I really like the sound of the larger version with fully functional keyboard. My biggest dilemma is whether to buy that or the upcoming ColectorVision (ColecoVision) kickstarter console. Hmmm. Maybe I'll have to get both!
Looks cute. My friends and me we played the hell out of California Games and Boulder Dash. Good ol' times. I have forgotten about so many titles on the C64. Impossible Mission was a great game too. Summer Games was exhausting! We have broken so many joysticks. :D "Little Computer People" was my favorite game on the C64.
Oh man! I LOVE The Commodore 64! I had Epyx everything! World Games, Summer Games, Epyx Wrestling, Winter Games, etc! We didn't have reviews and such back then, but you knew if it had the name "Epyx" on it, you were getting something EPIC! This was also back when Electronic Arts actually cared! I spent a bazillion hours on Racing Destruction Set! I'll be getting one of these ASAP!
The fact that Jumpman is on there is AWESOME, because, back in the day, which you might forget, that game was on,y ever released on _compact cassette_ (i.e., "(audio) cassette"), and so, to play it, it always took about twenty minutes, if I remember, correctly, from my days using my Atari 800 and its 410 cassette drive. I assume it took just as long, on the C64, back then. I actually don't remember a "Jumpman 2," but only ever a "Jumpman Jr.," which was cool, but it didn't have _nearly_ the number of different boards that the original Jumpman had. The inventor actually wasn't even a fan of the game, in large part because of that. So, is "Jumpman 2," the same as Jr.? Either way it will be great to just play the original Jumpman, without the 20-minute load time -- and people complain about Anthem load times, today... 😂 j/k The Commodore 64 was the best selling, single-model personal computer, ever, and that record will never even comes CLOSE to being beaten, even if there were 20 billion people on Earth, because of the myriad of computer models -- and "sub-models" of those computers -- that are available, at any given time, which will only grow. Only if someone like Bezos were to set out to break that record and sold a single $1,000 PC model, for 100 bucks -- and produced enough to sell 13 million units, relatively very quickly, which, at that price, wouldn't be too hard, I don't think. They'd probably sell out 13 million units, within a week. Some might be asking, "Why _only_ 13 million? The C64 sold 30 million units... " Well, that's because there are plenty of data to suggest that only a _total of about 7-8 million "Commodore 64s" were ever sold (see __www.pagetable.com/?p=547)__ -- which equates to the number produced... Also, that's even including the various small changes, which changed the Commodore model number, but that's a bit nitpicky. However, that 12.5 million number even includes the "64C" model of the Commodore 64, which, although it was functionally the same, was sold in a _completely new, modernized case,_ which matched the Commodore 128 -- basically a 64, with twice the RAM, which was pretty unnecessary, because, with all those 64s out there, almost _everything_ sold for that basic motherboard model was compatible with both the 64 and the original 1541 drive, because, to do otherwise would be to lose a perhaps tens of millions of dollars, by excluding those 12.5 million total 64K RAM Commodores. Commodore, itself, even made the 128 with a "64 mode," which would ensure _complete_ backwards compatibility, for essentially the same reason -- so that consumers wouldn't be afraid to upgrade and potentially not be able to play Bruce Lee, which _was_ legendary... I would argue that the modernization of the design led to an elongation of the 64's lifespan, especially considering that most of the units, in the last few years of production, were sold in Europe, which had been dominated (especially in Britain) by Sinclair computers, which had gone away, and the 64C model seemed a "newer computer," even though that was "only" an aesthetic difference. As we know with almost every consumer product -- for instance, consider the array of Raspberry Pi cases on the market, for aesthetic personalization, and people bought a shitload of Dodges, just before Dodge was on its way out of business, after their rebranding and especially making their existing (and older cars that were brought back, such as the Charger) cars look very cool, which started a bit of a revolution in auto aesthetics. (I do realize that Chrysler bought Daimler (who, in turn, owned Mercedes) which also led to changes in Dodge engineering, simultaneously, because Dodges rightfully had a reputation of being total shit cars that broke down, constantly, prior to that, but that was only ever advertised in their very short-lived "Dr. Z" campaign, with the stereotypical German, who represented putting German engineering into Dodge cars -- hence the rebranding... ). In any case, no pun intended, just to make sure that there would be no question/argument as to whether the record were broken -- except for those who think that more 64s were sold than were made -- I think that it would be "safe" to sell 13 million and put questions about the new case, etc., to rest... The Commodore 64 was an _incredible_ computer, especially for the price, versus Apple and IBM, but the Atari 800, made 2.5 years earlier, definitely gave it a run for its money -- the argument about which was better _still_ rages on, about that, on some pretty intense and deep, computer-engineer-level software/firmware/hardware debates, in threads, online). However the Atari 400 and 800 8-bit computers _are_ the first mass-produced computers to have ever had specialized chips made and installed, for graphics and audio, etc., to take processing load off the CPU. Also, the POKEY was definitely the better audio chip, and the 800 has two cartridge ports, the "Right Cartridge" slot with which one can actually burn cartridges to firmware, to make sure their owners who were programmers could both homebrew their software and distribute it, as well as to make sure their hard work wasn't subject to floppy failure -- because, despite the motto, an Elephant disk does *_not_* "Always Remember," as their slogan stated. Trust me. I lost a lot of programs to Elephant disks having failed -- especially over time -- although, besides TDK, those Elephant disks were arguably the best on the market -- and they had the price, to match... This video definitely makes me wanna go out and get a C64 mini, but last week, the same company revealed a full-size model, with working keyboard -- and I believe working, original-type I/O ports, as well, but I can't confirm that... Anywho, cheers to a truly great computer, from what was, most definitely, the greatest decade, like, ever!
for a long time as a kid my father would run a Christmas music program every Christmas morning, the John Henry Christmas carols, he died when I was 17 and didn't have a working c64 to carry on tradition, the audio quality in this plug and play is flawless, emulators crackled and pop and sounded terrible, but this is perfect, can't wait to restart the old tradition again
Wow dude i had that on my c64 when was really young and played it a lot in december. Even had a wierd childhood nightmare where the stuffed teddy bear by the tree tried to eat me. Danm brings back memories.
Loved that computer.
+Kwstr42 - It depends what audio settings you use in the emulator. I've gotten recent versions of WinVICE to sound exactly like I remember.
It's great to hear you talk about this MJR. I feel that people who used the C64 originally have a much better perspective on what improvements this new product offers and what users should expect. Another great video as always! :)
I enjoyed your review of it as well! Thanks for watching Duder.
You should check out games only released in the UK!
💖WAINTING fo MegaDrive /GENESIS mini..😎.
@@MetalJesusRocks and whoever else may be interested,
Watch "35 Year-Old C(ommodore)-64 Easter Egg Hidden On Vinyl" ua-cam.com/video/6_CZpFqvDQo/v-deo.html
This media cross-over production needs to come back. 👍
We need the Amiga mini 😬
Yep same games but better.
nEXUS
Not in all caes
BETTER GRAPHICS does not = better gameplay
Wizball was far better a game on the C64, and don't even get me started on that half-assed Amiga port of Outrun
LordEvyl the Amiga had an amazing games library all of its own, it'd be great to see one.
Amiga emulation is at a good standard these days; as long as there's minimal lag I'd certainly hook an Amiga Mini up. Hopefully it would use standard USB mice and keyboards. Wings of Fury! Carrier Command! Virus! Barbarian (with Arnie samples)!
@@lordevyl8317 Outrun was bad on the C64 too, but Turbo Outrun was one of the best racing games on C64.
The only problem was the biblical loading time between levels (on cassette), and the fact that the game started right away without asking you to press fire! So if you got distracted during loading you were guaranteed to lose a credit.
Enjoyed seeing some of those old C64 games :D
I spent lot of time on "California Games" back in the day. Happy to see it running again
Were you a C64 user back in the day, Phil?
I’m so happy you have Buggy Boy Barbarian and the Last Ninja games 🤘🏽
I just got one of these too, but haven't taken it out of the box yet because I've been too busy. I hope to try it out soon and give my opinion on the new USA version.
10 PRINT ""+-0 That should crash a real commodore 64
And let's hope it is better than the uninformed and inexperienced review of the EU machine you did already lol
I wonder if you could add a small factor keyboard like from an old netbook to make that part of it functional as a future project?
Would any one be able to tell me if this would play grimblood. I remember playing it on the Amiga 500.
But just really love to cover your 64-bit maybe one day I'll have to come in or 64 Mini
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders was hands down my best C64 experience!
Fun fact: There is a fan-made Zak McKracken 2. Haven't tried it, but it looks fun. :-)
That game was cruel. I launched the girls into space one time and the game wouldn't tell you hit a dead end, just walked around trying everything getting frustrated while Ron Gilbert laughs at you
It was good, but my best experience was all the Gold Box SSI Ad&D RPGs...and the Ultima series
Haha nice! Mr Brian himself, the adventure van man!
There were quite a few dead ends
Got one of these last week and I'm in LOVE! While not compatible with every rom out there, it's been a wonderful way to enter the world of C64 gaming!
You can get FIXED roms that should work with it. Depending on which version of the mini you have. The CSDB is a haven for that stuff
Metagalactic Llama
Yeah, I agree. Unless I spot a new release game, I usually only use the CSDB for demos, new SIDs and graphics. I was just offering a suggestion as the site is chock full of fixed "roms"
It's not the same if you don't have to wait a age in the hope the game would load.
Look at bright side we don't need wait hour anymore.
Hahaha. That is so true.
How about turning the floppy drive off & on real quick when it stops loading in the hopes that it would start back up again?
in Europe we rarely used floppy disks, they were too expensive.. we used cassettes and a game load in 3-5 MINUTES - it makes me laugh every time when US people cry for ten seconds of loading from a cd, you don't know what pain is
No doubt, right? I remember watching an entire 20 min tv show waiting for my game on cassette to load!
The commodore reminds of my childhood so much. Max nostalgia of a time that was so good
Thanks for C64 memories.. Ghostbusters (who you gonna call :-) ) .. The Great Escape.. Pirates (many hours sailing.. fencing).. Pool of Radiance.. Secret of Silver Blades.. Spy vs Spy..
I love you Metal Jesus! You brought the little me back out :) My dad and 9 year older brother brought this home to me at the age of 3 and I never put this down.
Bruce Lee was one of the best game EVER!!! Great vid bro!
Try Buce Lee II (it's a fanmade "sequel" made in 2013) It's basically a hack with some added levels
"Great vid bro!" Let's be honest here. It's not a great video. Nothing about the bad joystick that misses microswitches, nothing about the overall poor build quality. I got it for like 35 bucks and i still feel cheated.
In the mid 80's.I traded my C64 for a ride home from Broadway in Seattle.
Jason: I'm sure you're aware by now that the same company "Retro Games" has finally released their full-size C64 with a perfect full-size keyboard! It gives you the option to boot into either the games Carousel, or straight into C64 Basic, or even Vic 20!!
Some of the built-in games have changed, and a couple of Vic 20 games are now included... I was very happy to see that they've now got the license for Llamasoft games, so we now have "Attack Of The Mutant Camels", "Gridrunner" (Vic 20), and "Pyschedelia" (Vic 20); Llamasoft were such a strange, chilled out developer!! :-D
The new "The C64", as it's officialy called, has 4 USB ports, and a much-improved controller; the new one has micro-switches for the stick and fire buttons.....it feels great!
The firmware supplied plays external USB-Stick games, although there is new firmware update too.....
This system looks virtually identical in size, shape, colour and design to the original - no cartridge/tape/disk drive slots in the back, but there are now 4 USB ports instead.
It just behaves like it's a Commodore 64..... even if you try typing in game programmes from the manuals/magazines!
Not sure when the USA release date is, but make sure you're ready for it!! This will really hit you in the 'feels'... ;-)
damn, I wish the keyboard would work, it would really give the people that nostalgic moment
Art Bell
Euro-focused ???
As a Brit, I thought the games were US focused.
Maruko Chan 99 my biggest nostalgia for c64 is when you run your hand over the vents on the top of the old disk drive after turning it on and got that screeching sound lol
The keyboard issue is, for me, kind of a dealbreaker...
They promised the keyboard version to the backers. I hope they follow through.
That would pretty pretty bad though. Imagine trying to code on that thing. LOL
Jason do you know that you have a lot of fans here in Portugal?Lots of love and continue the good work!
Oh yeah!? AWESOME!!! Love to visit one day
Want to see me some Bard's Tale on the Commodore again. My all time favorite game across ANY platform even up to today.
It's amazing to know that the C64 demoscene never stopped en kept improving for 30+ years.
I think it tells something about what kind of fun machine it is.....
I grew up with C64. I owe a lot to this system, I learned how to program computers with it at age 12. I ended up going on to being a software engineer, but I learned the foundation of writing code on the C64 early 1980s I love this system. Thanks for the video, it brought back a lot of memories.
Stay a while, MJR! Stay forever! This was my first gaming system when I was a kid. So many great games. Pool of Radiance, Uridium, Montezumas Revenge, Henry´s House, Great Giana Sisters, Wonder Boy, Zorro, Monty on the Run, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Fist 2, The Last Ninja etc. Love this system! In the end of Who Dares Wins 2 there is a phone number to the creator. We called him several times. I bet he changed his number eventually... :-)
Got one as a Christmas gift. Just put all the Ultima games (the ones that were on the C64) on there, as well as Montezuma's Revenge (one of my favorite early platform games) and a few others.
You’re the reason my taste in retro videos games has expanded outside of my old Nintendo-only preferences. Love your videos!
Thanks so much!!
The C64 was my 2nd console after the Atari 2600. I got it for my 9th birthday back in 88.
The C64 games I remember playing the most are
Montezuma's revenge (Best)
Cave Fighter (2nd Best)
The Human Race (Great 1st level music, not a great game but played it a lot)
Chiller
Dizzy
Treasure Island Dizzy
Gothik
Kik-Start
Boulder Dash
Miner 2049er
Any other Pogo Joe fans out there? I think I'm gonna get this for my mom and put Pogo Joe on it. She was obsessed with that game, even though she supposedly bought the c64 for my sister and me. Lol
I never had a C64 myself but I did play it at some friend's houses in the 80s.
My favorite C64 games: Turrican 1 & 2, Giana Sisters, Rally Speedway, Pitstop 2, International Soccer, Bubble Bobble, Zack McKracken, Maniac Mansion, Summer Games, Winter Games, Space Taxi, R-Type, ...
Skate or Die, Test Drive, One on One, International Karate, Project Stealth fighter, F15 Strike Eagle, Airborne Ranger, Green Beret, The last Ninja.
Turrican and Turrican 2
I had no idea skate or die was c64 originally
Last Ninja 2 was the best game out of that series
I just got one for $10. It’s super cool takes me back. The only reason why I bought it was for the look , but then I found out it was really easy to put in games and it’s so much fun. Feeling like a kid again thanks for another great video. Keep it up.🤘😎
Excellent review dude, it was great to see you in the mini FB group...
It's a fun little box. Just for giggles, I hooked up a USB keyboard, opened Commodore Basic, did a 'load "$", 8' and found out that there is an emulated disk available to store programs that you type in while playing around with basic programming.
Update: I found the game its called Questron and I found it for the C-64.
I need to know the name of a game I played a LOT. You were on an island and was to protect the towns where you can buy and sell item. You fought to protect the towns and went in to buy supplies or upgrades and sell what you got from fighting. In another town you buy items to get around the island better. But if you wanted to you can rob the towns fight your way out and then come back into the town to sell what you stole. But if you did that too many times the store was empty. It was a great game that I want to play again.
Great review and I am getting the mini US version. Thanks.
The thing is, the games on the device where hugely popular in Europe. A lot of them were never released outside of the EU
The new firmware even includes a free version of Galencia which was only made last year. It won the Reset64 Magazine game of the year. A really good Galaga clone
Really? Galencia is included? I better get that new firmware version installed on mine then! As for the games on it being eurocentric that kind of makes sense. There were a ton of games released over here for the C64. It pretty much ruled the gaming stage on this side of the pond together with the ZX Spectrum until the 16 bit era arrived. The NES and its console competitors didn't get the same foothold as it did in the US.
Yeah, Nintendo never did well in the EU until the SNES came out, although the gameboy did pretty decent, but the handheld market is quite different from the console market
OH MAN! I remember playing BC Quest for Tires... what a throwback. :)
I don't think it was actually an obscure title back then. It was also on Atari 8-bit - and was slated to be ported to the 5200 - and the Colecovision...
I had the game on my C64, although I played the ColecoVision version first
It was fun, but i preferred the sequel Grog's Revenge
Just order one! Can’t wait to get it :). I been watching your videos since I was in the military and they are some of the best in UA-cam! :)
I know its been out some time now but I just wanted to say that i still enjoy playing my c64 mini today. Still looks cool and pleasing to look at. Long live the c64...
Awesome I really have to get me one of these. Also I think one of the games that impressed me the most back in the day was Driller with it's 3D graphics, and the intro/loading screen with the 9 min long SID is just awesome.
Oh man , Defender of the crown !! Loved that game as a kid . Still find myself whistling the music from it now , I'm 47 !!!
Excellent review! The selection of games might have been driven by licensing, but I suspect it had more to do with the fact that these games required minimal keyboard input and were limited to a single disk. To include games that are keyboard-heavy or multiple disks would mean adding complexity that would not be as enjoyable.
I hope that this version of the C64 Mini is a commercial success for the makers so that they have incentive to produce a "full size" version with working keyboard. At the very least, I hope that they release a fullsized USB Commodore keyboard attachment for the Mini.
The clicky thumbsticks text from the NeoGeo guy is in the intro, including your reaction to it.
YOU ABSOLUTE MAD MAN.
I just got my full size C64 clone. I have my wireless controller set up with it. So happy right now. I can't believe I sold my c64.
Yeah... I just got mine a couple of days ago too.... it's pretty much perfect to what I remember using and selling back in around '82/83.... the Basic emulator is pretty much perfect too; it even asks for tape drive if you tell it to load, without using the ",8" extension!! It treats the USB stick as a disk drive, which is nice!
It's big and clunky looking by today's standards, but hey... it's a wonderful piece of history pretty much perfectly recreated!
I had a c64 and an Atari 800xl. I must say, the Atari 8 bit computers were more polished, faster, and less buggy than the C64....
Around 8:00 I had NO idea Giana Sisters was a C64 game, I play the newest Giana sisters on my switch almost every week ! My dad brought a C64 home from work sometimes and I got to play it. I was born in 81 though so all I really remember is the winter games game and the wrestling game!!
Fantastic video! :) Very cool you are on the FB group as well! There is just one thing I hope this thing gets updated about, left. And that would be that you can flip through disks without it resetting/autorunning, so that BASIC can be used as is, an you're practically using a real C64.
The new C64 is coming out in December 2019!
C64 maxi is coming guys and gals!! =)
I ordered mine yesterday, it should be released the 5 of December.
I got mine. I'm using an 8bitdo m30 controller with it. YAY!
Brilliant summery of the system. I played a lot of Hero back in the day. Mainly because I couldn't afford many games back then so it was good to see you mention that. My mate still has my original machine as I gave it to him a few years back. He was beast when it comes to the machine. Even built hardware mods for the thing with another mate of mine. I used to go round and they'd have the disk drive in bits. Apparently my original drive no longer works but the C64 itself is still fully functional. It'd be great to see a slightly bigger version of the mini with a keyboard. I'd buy one of those in a heartbeat (especially if they put a few more usb ports on the thing. Two isn't enough).
Seeing all the old hackers names is one of the best part of booting your own roms.
From what I hear. It was difficult to add more games because of licensing issues. Some games were close to impossible to track down license holders and I understand why they wouldn't risk getting sued if the license holder were to suddenly materialize and submit a claim. That's what I heard.
If they made it full size with a fully functioning keyboard I'd buy it in a heart beat.
There is maybe a version coming that is full size. Well that was their original plan.
I'm really interested in this whole project. Right now the only thing holding me back from buying is the possibility of the full size version with keyboard. I have an original C64 that's still working but I'm not sure if the CRT it's connected to or the C64 will die first. I'd love to have a backup plan but I don't want it to me a mini version with no keyboard.
@@fermp3690 I think that with the help of a keyrah you could gut a fried original C64, put the board of the mini inside the fullsize C64 case and have the original keyboard working, but sure the ready-made version will be more convenient.
And a reliable website to download more games would help
As someone in the UK, all of those games look very familiar and a lot are very very awesome.
I've picked up one of these but haven't had the time to take it out of the box yet. I had one of the Commodote Vic-20s back in the day. Loved playing games and writing programs on it. Good review.
There needs to be a Mini Amiga
@Metagalactic Llama Both...and then have a "Null Modem Cable" option via USB to hook them up together for Lotus, Falcon, and other games that supported it. I'm not sure if USB would be capable of hooking up 16 said Atari ST(e) Minis for "MIDI Maze" though...would be cool to try it though!
Mini ZX Spectrum .LOL
8-Bit Retro Rulz
A Mini Speccy wouldn't be such a bad idea actually. Although, I think it would only go over well in Europe.
@@lordevyl8317 I could buy such a Mini Speccy and use it as a door stop in my daughter's doll house so it could actually be useful here in 'Murica...
Mini Atari Jaguar
LOL
As the C64 is my favourite home computer, I really enjoyed this video, I have over 1200 original C64 cassette games, now I can play them on the Mini C64 :)
From what I remember, loading some of the scenes for Defender of the Crown from tape took about as much time as eating dinner.
Awesome, thank you for this vid! I’m considering this console and it looks like I’m going to get it! I too enjoy the fact that you can upgrade with a firmware to play any other c64 title!
I'm totally surprised at how fun some of those games look. I had no idea!
Bard's Tale and those decoder disks...oh the memories. I also remember playing contract with two joystick with one on the floor (with micro-switches) so I could press the button with my toe to jump.
that should be contra, not contract.
Great video!!, I still have probably 3000 games magazines with all the demo disks back to the early 90's, used to be a great part of PC Gaming in the 90's a way of checking out games before you bought them.
Thanks for the great review of this, it's the only "Mini Classic" system I'm considering, loved your take & details on it man!
I might consider a Mini-Amiga (or Atari ST) if one comes out
Thank you man!
I used to play exact the same you did!
Know them all.
What I can remember I also loved some other titles like 'Thing on a spring' (best platform game I know) and I had lot's of fun with 'Rock 'n wrestle', IK+, Kickstart 2, etc.
loved raid over Moscow, beachead,beachead 2,outrun,will hopefully be having a c64 mini off santa this year..☺
I remember playing a lot of these games back in the 80's as well, even B.C Quest for tires lol. Great memories!
When I was young, it was impossible for me to have one C64, I remember my cousin getting a C128 and he never really appreciated or used it, don't know why??. Now I can make my younger years dream come true and for a fraction of the price!!!! Thx Metal Jesus you REALLY ROCKS!!!!!!! UR THE MAN!!!!
I loved Quest for Tires!!! Just got my mini today and I cannot wait to relive my childhood.
I really love the setting in your game room.
My only real problem with the C64 Mini is that the Joystick is nowhere near the quality of a _real_ Competition Pro stick, which the look of it is based on. I'm kinda hoping someone will make and sell a proper version of a Comp Pro or even a TAC-2 stick for the Mini.
Well this just got a whole lot more interesting. Neat!
Yes we played winter games and california games too all the time.
Other classics: Sid Meiers Pirates, Football Manager, Microprose Soccer, Elite, Mule, Strip poker, Commande, Rambo.
Now with this new firmware I think it top my christmas list.
I'm happy to hear of the improvements. I might want to hold out for a version with a working keyboard only because the key layout on a C64 is... sliiiightly different than a modern keyboard you'd hook into the USB port. Still, I imagine the working keyboard would cause a serious jump in the price point what with having moving mechanical parts...
Very cool that it's actually a official way to do this instead of hacking it. A good alternative to this is the C64 Forever by Cloanto, if you want to run the games and software in Windows. It also comes with a lot of licensed classic games. They also have a great Amiga Forever as well. Worth checking out.
Keep up the awesome vids MJ
I love seeing these retro gaming systems. great video
Showing my love for Metal Jesus and the Metal Jesus Crew by posting a comment to feed the algorithm.... I wonder if the algorithm filters out comments with the word 'algorithm'.
I got one as I was too young or not even born yet when the C64 came out..looks awesome
Rick Dangerous...now I know where Derek Yu got the idea for Spelunky. LOL
I am a tad bit too young for the C64, also here in Norway such things cost a bloody fortune so I had to make due with the Sega Master Drive for a good couple years (around 91 to 93) before we went into PC. So it goes to say that I am unfamiliar with the C64 library. I was actually fucking STUNNED to see Defender of the Crown. It left me way more awestruck than even the best of graphics does today. Genuinely surprising to see that the capabilities of the C64 was clearly underused and the quantity mentality, or just simply inexperience, clearly held back what it could do in 99% of the cases.
If you think that is small, check out the ODROID-GO handheld console. It emulates the C64 very well with its recent update and addon keyboard. I have several videos about it. 🙂
Really cool! I have been seeing these on the shelves here in Canada lately and was avoiding them thinking that you couldn't add more games! Especially at the $100 price point. I still have a real Commodore 64, so it didn't matter to me much. But now I might think about picking one up. :)
Awesome! Looks like they were trying to keep the spirit of the system with this. I wonder, would a powered USB hub work with this so you could have the keyboard, joystick, and flash drive plugged in at one time?
First games I’d put on this would be Stunt Car Racer, Turrican 1+2, Creatures 2, Outrun, Power Drift, Green Beret, Silkworm, SWIV, R-Type, Saint Dragon, X-Out, UN Squadron, IK+, Ivan “Iron Man” Stewart’s Off Road Racer and the Dizzy Series ... for starters. Fuck this was a great gaming system!!!
MetalJesusRocks, not sure if you will read this but there are two games to try that are EXCELLENT and I have never seen them on any of your lists. Below the Root is an excellent game and also Realm of Impossibility.
wow i remember my school in grade 3 having that B.C Caveman game thats a blast from the past i used to love it.
Still have a C64. When my older Brother and I were kids, we had a ton of floppy games for it.
yes, "programs from a magazine"!!! I still have a few of those from the 80s and remember typing them into my Apple IIgs. 2 hrs later you had a free "game"!
I have not been able to find something I think must exist somewhere, that is a comparison table of all popular classic (pre-2000) video game consoles with columns for things like resolutions, CPU clock speed, colors, colors simultaneously on screen, etc.
We recently bought one of these as a present for someone. Nice to know that there is a firmware update!
Okay, I'm tempted to get this. Never grew up with the Commodore, but the updates make me interested.
Thanks very much for this revisit of the C64 mini. I really like the sound of the larger version with fully functional keyboard. My biggest dilemma is whether to buy that or the upcoming ColectorVision (ColecoVision) kickstarter console. Hmmm. Maybe I'll have to get both!
Looks cute.
My friends and me we played the hell out of California Games and Boulder Dash. Good ol' times. I have forgotten about so many titles on the C64. Impossible Mission was a great game too. Summer Games was exhausting! We have broken so many joysticks. :D "Little Computer People" was my favorite game on the C64.
Awesome bg music at the end!
No waiting for tapes to load, im sold!
i love these classic mini game consoles. i may have to pick one up now that they updated the firmware
I loved my C64 with my Brothers. Always played Dizzy and a free game called Park Patrol.
Oh man! I LOVE The Commodore 64! I had Epyx everything! World Games, Summer Games, Epyx Wrestling, Winter Games, etc! We didn't have reviews and such back then, but you knew if it had the name "Epyx" on it, you were getting something EPIC! This was also back when Electronic Arts actually cared! I spent a bazillion hours on Racing Destruction Set! I'll be getting one of these ASAP!
The fact that Jumpman is on there is AWESOME, because, back in the day, which you might forget, that game was on,y ever released on _compact cassette_ (i.e., "(audio) cassette"), and so, to play it, it always took about twenty minutes, if I remember, correctly, from my days using my Atari 800 and its 410 cassette drive. I assume it took just as long, on the C64, back then.
I actually don't remember a "Jumpman 2," but only ever a "Jumpman Jr.," which was cool, but it didn't have _nearly_ the number of different boards that the original Jumpman had. The inventor actually wasn't even a fan of the game, in large part because of that. So, is "Jumpman 2," the same as Jr.? Either way it will be great to just play the original Jumpman, without the 20-minute load time -- and people complain about Anthem load times, today... 😂 j/k
The Commodore 64 was the best selling, single-model personal computer, ever, and that record will never even comes CLOSE to being beaten, even if there were 20 billion people on Earth, because of the myriad of computer models -- and "sub-models" of those computers -- that are available, at any given time, which will only grow. Only if someone like Bezos were to set out to break that record and sold a single $1,000 PC model, for 100 bucks -- and produced enough to sell 13 million units, relatively very quickly, which, at that price, wouldn't be too hard, I don't think. They'd probably sell out 13 million units, within a week.
Some might be asking, "Why _only_ 13 million? The C64 sold 30 million units... " Well, that's because there are plenty of data to suggest that only a _total of about 7-8 million "Commodore 64s" were ever sold (see __www.pagetable.com/?p=547)__ -- which equates to the number produced... Also, that's even including the various small changes, which changed the Commodore model number, but that's a bit nitpicky. However, that 12.5 million number even includes the "64C" model of the Commodore 64, which, although it was functionally the same, was sold in a _completely new, modernized case,_ which matched the Commodore 128 -- basically a 64, with twice the RAM, which was pretty unnecessary, because, with all those 64s out there, almost _everything_ sold for that basic motherboard model was compatible with both the 64 and the original 1541 drive, because, to do otherwise would be to lose a perhaps tens of millions of dollars, by excluding those 12.5 million total 64K RAM Commodores. Commodore, itself, even made the 128 with a "64 mode," which would ensure _complete_ backwards compatibility, for essentially the same reason -- so that consumers wouldn't be afraid to upgrade and potentially not be able to play Bruce Lee, which _was_ legendary...
I would argue that the modernization of the design led to an elongation of the 64's lifespan, especially considering that most of the units, in the last few years of production, were sold in Europe, which had been dominated (especially in Britain) by Sinclair computers, which had gone away, and the 64C model seemed a "newer computer," even though that was "only" an aesthetic difference. As we know with almost every consumer product -- for instance, consider the array of Raspberry Pi cases on the market, for aesthetic personalization, and people bought a shitload of Dodges, just before Dodge was on its way out of business, after their rebranding and especially making their existing (and older cars that were brought back, such as the Charger) cars look very cool, which started a bit of a revolution in auto aesthetics. (I do realize that Chrysler bought Daimler (who, in turn, owned Mercedes) which also led to changes in Dodge engineering, simultaneously, because Dodges rightfully had a reputation of being total shit cars that broke down, constantly, prior to that, but that was only ever advertised in their very short-lived "Dr. Z" campaign, with the stereotypical German, who represented putting German engineering into Dodge cars -- hence the rebranding... ).
In any case, no pun intended, just to make sure that there would be no question/argument as to whether the record were broken -- except for those who think that more 64s were sold than were made -- I think that it would be "safe" to sell 13 million and put questions about the new case, etc., to rest...
The Commodore 64 was an _incredible_ computer, especially for the price, versus Apple and IBM, but the Atari 800, made 2.5 years earlier, definitely gave it a run for its money -- the argument about which was better _still_ rages on, about that, on some pretty intense and deep, computer-engineer-level software/firmware/hardware debates, in threads, online). However the Atari 400 and 800 8-bit computers _are_ the first mass-produced computers to have ever had specialized chips made and installed, for graphics and audio, etc., to take processing load off the CPU. Also, the POKEY was definitely the better audio chip, and the 800 has two cartridge ports, the "Right Cartridge" slot with which one can actually burn cartridges to firmware, to make sure their owners who were programmers could both homebrew their software and distribute it, as well as to make sure their hard work wasn't subject to floppy failure -- because, despite the motto, an Elephant disk does *_not_* "Always Remember," as their slogan stated. Trust me. I lost a lot of programs to Elephant disks having failed -- especially over time -- although, besides TDK, those Elephant disks were arguably the best on the market -- and they had the price, to match...
This video definitely makes me wanna go out and get a C64 mini, but last week, the same company revealed a full-size model, with working keyboard -- and I believe working, original-type I/O ports, as well, but I can't confirm that... Anywho, cheers to a truly great computer, from what was, most definitely, the greatest decade, like, ever!
F YEAH!!!!!!!! KISS!!!!! You seeing them on the end of the road tour?
The music of Commando. OH, the music! It is still in my head! SO good!
Great to see some Buggy Boy love, MJR!
Awesome vid as always
Summer Games II and winter Games was all that we played!!
I think the world is in need of a game called Murder Olympics made in the mold of World Games, Summer Games, Winter Games, etc.
I totally remember B.C. Quest for Tires! I played that game a lot! The Impossible Mission games were certainly my favourite C64 games though.